5 Self-Improvement Musts In this COVID-19 Pandemic

While COVID-19 Pandemic has forced the world to call for full or partial lock down and forced people to stay back at home, let’s take the opportunity of self-quarantine in revising our personalities. You are advised and instructed to do your official work-from-home which isn’t as demanding as following routine office rules and regulations. You are in your comfort zone while performing your duties. This whole situation gives you plenty of time to reconsider so many things. Why not to invest this time in the best possible way by picking some self-improvement habits?

Yes, while you are staying back at home and planning on investing this time in some learning and healthy activities, consider the option of self-improvement. While we are surrounded by so much negativity, be it incidents, accidents or people, it is time to work on bringing positivity to yourself.

When you start working on improving yourself, you are subconsciously creating a positive and lively aura around your personality which directly impacts others around you. You might have come across people with strong positive personalities and if you aspire to attain the charms of those people then you need to understand that all of them at certain point of their lives have worked on improving themselves.

Although, we are stuck in our busy life routines where we meet all kinds of people but this particular time of global pandemic which is quite unfortunate is giving us a chance of working on ourselves.

Let’s understand the concept of self-improvement:

Although, the term self-improvement is self-explanatory, however getting a clear understanding of the term is very important. Self-Improvement means one should work on improving knowledge about self, your mental status, and knowledge about one’s character. In short, it is the quest of constantly working on making ourselves better in every way.

Here are 5 Self-Improvement Musts you should follow to bring charm and positivity in your personality!

1. Stop Lying to Yourself:

If you are really keen in improving yourself then ask yourself that in the world of black-and-white where do you stand? This means that start evaluating yourself by asking a few questions such as, do I really needed to react to a certain situation the way I did? Am I dealing with my people right? Etc. If you hear someone complaining about your behavior then take some alone time and rethink the situation and evaluate what if you have reacted differently. But if you think you behaved right then it is time for you to stop lying to yourself.

Accept the negatives of your personality. It is perfectly alright for everyone to have positives and negatives aspects of their personality. But those with strong personalities have overcome their negatives by working on them. You can also list down the negatives of your personality and work on them. This is called self-awareness step. Don’t just focus of negatives but include positives as well. This will help you in improving yourself overall.

2. Be Realistic:

Don’t set hard and unachievable goals for yourself. Be realistic! Try to focus on the present moment than dreaming about what you would be after 5 years. If you are ignoring your present, you are putting a question mark on your future self. Consider this the second step in self-improvement. Get your things done right now, make progress in the areas that matter the most to you. Focus on the process and system of doing things rather than the final goal.

Set daily goals for yourself such as behaving right, thinking positive, evaluating yourself and situations.

3. Identify the Blind Spots:

Most of the time we are unaware of our blind spots. They are called blind spots because you somehow overlook them while evaluating yourself. In simple words, some of the behaviors, reactions and action which we might display but we don’t realize them. Once you start seeing at those blind spots, we can really take them and work on them. This can be one of the turning points in self-improvements.

What possibly could be categorizing as blind spots?

The best way to find the blind spots is to list down all the events, things, people and situations that trigger you to behave in a certain way. This means paying close attention to what annoys you, disturbs you, affects you and puts you in weird situation.

By doing this exercise of listing down what triggers you can help you in discovering the blind spots and once you are done, you can look for best options of dealing with blind spots such as, avoiding such gathering, event or situation altogether or face them with a better approach.

4. Get Inspired:

You might be looking up to some people or celebrities for inspiration. But guess what? Inspiration does not come from people only; in fact you can get inspired by nature. Spend time in nature, like with plants and animals and see how they act and react. For instance, if you start spending time with plants daily for some time regularly, you will notice developing a connection with them. You might feel they are responding you. Same goes for animals. Learn from nature and try to decode the messages it is sending us.

Also, study the people you look up to. Study their habits and their inspiration because they reflect certain qualities you are aspiring to adapt.

5. Read about Self-Improvement:

Reading can do wonders; however, make sure you are reading something healthy. However, when it comes to self-improvement consider reading books and article or blogs that are full of tips and roadmap to a better self. If you can’t commit to reading a book then make sure to read at least one self-development article daily. It will help you in getting the idea of what other people are up to. By doing so, you can develop reading habit which itself is a solution to many problems we deal. Internet is full of some amazing and mind-blowing articles about self-improvement.

Make more and more out of this self-quarantine time. Once you start working on improving yourself you can become an inspiration for others as well.

Coronavirus Pandemic – How to Cope with the Panic!

Coronavirus or COVID-19 is spreading like wild fire around the globe. More than
200,000 cases have been reported around the world. The latest data shows that
170 plus countries are affected or have reported cases of coronavirus. This is
quite an unfortunate situation we are facing and dealing with.

But we have stay strong and together we can fight this virus. We will for sure!

Media, experts and authorities are trying their best to keep people aware of
the coronavirus and how you can catch it while instructing people to follow the
guidelines issues by World Health Organization. Media is continuously playing
its part responsible by reporting and asking people to take all the
precautionary steps to prevent the spread of the virus. However, unfortunately,
and unintentionally the panic and disturbance can be felt among masses.

Although COVID-19 has different symptoms than routine flu, the two still can be
confused for each other. This situation whether you have routine flu and cough
or showing symptoms of coronavirus is causing panic among people.

Although experts are asking people to stay calm as this will pass but this
pandemic is something the world has not seen and experienced before and
therefore it is getting on people’s nerves.

Governments and authorities are doing and taking extreme precautionary
measurements such as locking-down cities or partially locking-down countries.
They are doing everything to prevent virus from spreading and protecting their
people. But it is time that we play our part as well by observing
self-quarantine, social distancing and staying back at home.

This overall situation can be hard on everyone’s nerve. Especially elders,
children and teens can get mental stress from these circumstances. The fear and
anxiety that comes along with coronavirus outbreak can be overwhelming.

But it is time to keep your sanity and cope with stress so that you can take
care of the people you love the most.

Those who are prone to catch the virus are:

Elders, School going students, Teenagers; they are at higher risk for COVID-19.

Doctors, Nurses and Healthcare providers who are treating the coronavirus
patients are directly risking their lives because they are exposed to the
virus.

People with history of mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and
stress. Panic can cause different kinds of stress such as:

Getting extra worried about your health and health of your family members.
Worrying a lot can turn into fear of catching coronavirus.

Notice if someone around you is showing change in sleeping and eating patter or
you notice these symptoms in yourself know that it is stress. You are stressing
a lot about what can happen and what if COVID-19 affects you or your family
(God forbids).

If you are already having some health issue, it will start getting worse if you
are stressed out.

Coping with Stress:

You can cope with the panic and stressful situation by staying positive in and
taking very good care of yourself, family and friends.

Help your communities, as cities are locked down look around your neighborhood,
see if you find any less-privileged persons who might be in need of some
financial help. By helping those you can have a sense of relief. It will
eventually overcome your stress.

Support Yourself and Others:

Give yourself sometime. Take break from watching
news channels and socials. Because everyone is talking about Coronavirus, be it
electronic media or socials, everywhere is news of COVID-19 pandemic. It is
better to avoid news channels and socials if you are under stress.

Treat yourself by practicing some Yoga. You can
take help from YouTube videos.

Spend time with nature. Start kitchen gardening.
Once you grow a plant you will love to see it growing.

Read a book. A good book can take you to another
world and make you forget about your worries.

Stay in touch with your family via voice and
video calls. Talking to your family members can help you a lot in fighting the
stress and anxiety.

Even after doing all the aforementioned techniques your stress is still getting worse and getting in the way of your daily activities then consult your healthcare provider. Counseling can make a huge difference in such conditions.

Cope up with panic caused by coronavirus pandemic:

Don’t trust everything you are hearing about coronavirus outbreak. Authenticate the source from where the information or news is coming.This will help you in staying positive. Follow World Health Organization as that is the most authentic source for getting information about this global pandemic. List down the facts about COVID-19; try to understand the actual risk associated with the outbreak. This will help you in evaluating the best possible precautionary measures for you and your family. Understanding the facts about Coronavirus pandemic can make you less stressed.

Parents should be more attentive:

Children and teenagers can react differently to this global pandemic. Parents need to be extra alert while dealing with their kids. Pay close attention to your child’s behavior because children cannot express or control the stress they are experiencing.

Know that your child is in panic or stressed if you notice these behaviors:

Sitting alone and not getting along with family members well. Your child is crying or displaying irritating behavior without any reason. Adapting unhealthy eating habits. Unable to concentrate, getting zoned-out most of the times. Reacting to everything said to them. Not getting enough sleep or complaining about disturbed sleep. Showing less interest in routine activities. Complaining about headaches and body ache.

If your kids and young children are displaying such behaviors then understand they are under mental stress.

You can help your kids by:

Talking to them about what they are feeling. Make them understand that it is okay to feel stressed sometimes. Talk about coronavirus pandemic and tell them how they can protect themselves and others by following the precautionary guidelines. Reassure them that they are safe. Also you can share your coping techniques with them.

Tell them they are not alone. There are other people who are facing this tough time. By staying strong and positive we can defeat this pandemic.

These are a few tips you can take away with you if you are experience any kind of panic in this global pandemic.

Last but not the least, stay at home and stay safe while reassuring yourself that we can fight and defeat COVID-19 together.